Introduction to Philosophy

Three Major Writing Assignments: Introduction to Philosophy

 

Essay One: Beginning to Philosophize

Richard Schumaker

 

Please respond to one and one only of the following questions in a carefully written essay of 3-6 pages.

 

Your essay should have a formal introduction, body, and conclusion.

 

Before writing the paper you should read Plato’s Cave, The Apology, The Symposium, and view our class videos. Also, search the Web to see many graphic versions versions of the Cave.

 

Please be sure to use a cover sheet that has an image and a title that reflect the thesis of your paper.

 

In the introduction to your essay, please underline the 1-2 sentence main idea of the paper

 

 

1. Identify and describe the four main parts of Plato’s

Cave. Show how each part has relevance to your life. Be very specific about places, dates, and people.

 

2. What are the three most important themes in Plato’s account of the interior of the Cave? Please identify and describe with quotations from the text. Finally, show how each of these themes is relevant to life today.

 

3. Find at least four drawings of the Cave—not counting the ones we did in class which are masterpieces and have few faults. Identify three aspects of Plato’s Cave as described in Republic VII that are seldom if ever included in the drawings that one sees. Why do you think these aspects are omitted?

 

 

5. Extra-credit. Draw a scene from the Life of Socrates as we have studied it so far in this class. Here is what someone else a while back submitted:

 

 

 

 

Essay 2: From the Greeks to the Middle Ages

 

Please choose one of the following questions and write a short essay of 2-5 pages on it using a very tight traditional construction: introduction with thesis and previewed steps of development, body with 3-6 paragraphs, and conclusion that restates thesis and steps very clearly.

 

Please use a cover sheet with an image and title that reflect the thesis of your paper. Underline your thesis in the first paragraph of your paper

 

1. What are the three main differences between the philosophy of classical antiquity as we have studied it and Christian-based philosophy?

 

2. In what three ways do you think Socrates might be considered a Christian thinker?

 

3. What are three major lessons that you have learned from the course so far. Please explain in terms of your own life, goals, and experiences. Be very concrete but feel free to fictionalize some.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Essay 3: Philosophy Final

Richard Schumaker

 

 

In your philosophy final, you will write a short essay addressing the problem of how this introduction to philosophy relates to your life.

 

The title of the paper will be “Your Name: A Philosophical Summation,” “Your Name’s Apology,”

“A Prince George’s Symposium.” Or something like that.

 

In this paper, you will take three of our main ideas and show how they help to explain your life.

 

Your paper will have a 1-2 sentence introduction, setting the scene—telling a bit about the class, naming the three ideas that interested you the most, and then explaining in 1-4 sentences how these ideas relate to you.

 

The body of the paper will contain the following:

I. Main Idea 1

 

A. State the idea

B. Explain it

C. Explain what it has to do with you. Be totally specific and precise—names, places etc. You may fictionalize. Add images and videos if you wish

 

 

II. Main Idea 2–same outline as above

 

 

III. Main Idea 3–same outline as above

 

The paper should have a cover sheet that is a work of art. The cover sheet should have an image and title that reflect the thesis